Winsford, Cheshire

Cheshire and Warrington has the best performing economy in the North of England and one of the most successful and fastest growing economies in the country. It wants to go further and has ambitious plans to have a £50bn economy for Cheshire and Warrington by 2040, delivering 127,000 new homes and 120,000 new jobs. The Cheshire & Warrington LEP will be central to realising this ambition.

Our board works in partnership with three local authorities (Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Warrington Borough Council), the Cheshire and Warrington business community including Cheshire Business Leaders, Chambers of Commerce and key sector networks, together with the sub-region’s two universities, Colleges of Further Education and the voluntary and community sectors. We also enhance our work alongside Northern Powerhouse businesses and initiatives. We are now seeking a Business and Innovation Director to help realise our ambitions.

This is a key role that will champion the LEP’s business engagement and bolster business growth. The successful postholder will have three overriding objectives: 1) To lead our Growth Hub so that it forms an effective conduit with the business community and supports growth and productivity improvements. 2) To work with and influence a wide array of stakeholders including our three local authorities, central government, and related agencies such as TfN. 3) To lead our engagement with the private sector, allowing their views and priorities to inform our strategic goals.

The development of our Growth Hub is particularly exciting. We will be strengthening its role as the primary route to impartial, high quality business support - operating at the heart of our business engagement plans and allowing us to address key issues and enable business growth across the region. It will also support employer involvement in careers activities and strengthen links between local businesses and schools – creating measurable impact.

We are therefore seeking candidates who have worked across the public and private sectors, with business support experience, commercial acumen, and ideally an understanding of inward investment and/or international trade. A knowledge of publicly funded programmes such as ERDF would be an advantage.

Timetable

Closing date

19th October 2018

Final interviews

End October/Early November 2018

How to Apply

To apply for this role, please submit an up to date copy of your CV, along with a Supporting Statement that addresses the criteria set out in the person specification, using examples to demonstrate how you meet the essential requirements. Please provide your home, work, mobile and email contact details and let us know of any dates when you are not available or where you may have difficulty with the indicative timetable. You should also provide the names, positions, organisations and contact details for two referees, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer. If you do not wish us to approach your referees without your prior permission, please state this clearly.

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an automated email to confirm that you have applied. If you do not receive this email, please make contact with GatenbySanderson.